Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint – Side Story - Chapter 2
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Chapter 2: The World After the Completion (2)
―Ah, ah. Mic test.
How would the characters feel when they first encounter the unusual appearance in the subway?
―Can everyone hear me well?
The woman on the screen looked so much like the imagined Han Sooyoung that it sent chills down my spine.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so;
Other readers were also gaping at the screen.
―Are there still people who remember his story? Well, you were all Kim Dokjas too, after all.
Even her unfortunate way of speaking perfectly mimicked Han Sooyoung.
It was probably crafted using deepfake technology, but whoever acted it out did an impressive job.
But then, Han Sooyoung suddenly started saying strange things.
―I sent a short story prelude via cloud recently; did you all read it?
Huh?
―Of course, you must have. I know. But until now, it was just a taste. The real ‘prelude’ is about to begin.
Wait a minute.
What if we haven’t stocked up on reserves yet?
What if we can’t handle such statements right now?
Give us the manuscript at least.
―So, please continue to support me in the future. I’ll take only one more question.
The readers, who had been staring at the screen, turned to each other.
Han Sooyoung added.
―Tell me where Yoo Junghyuk bought boots, let me know if Kwon Younge eats locusts or not. I don’t know about these things, so check in advance.
Someone sighed, seemingly disappointed.
The readers hesitated, unsure if they could ask questions.
Well, originally, it was just a recorded video, so they probably couldn’t get answers even if they asked.
But then, someone raised their hand.
“Did Kim Dokja come back to life?”
It was a petite fangirl sitting in the front row.
A brief silence fell over the audience in the left-middle section.
It was a question that any reader who had finished the series would be curious about.
In a sense, it was a question that everyone seemed to know the answer to, yet it was impossible to answer.
It felt disheartening.
If the Han Sooyoung in that video was indeed the real Han Sooyoung, she must be feeling the same way as me.
But then.
―Ah, right. Kim Dokja, isn’t it?
Huh?
―That’s…
Could it be a live broadcast?
And the next moment, with a sparking sound, the screen went black.
Cheers erupted from the audience.
“Oh, unfortunately, the signal got cut. Let’s all find out together in the prelude whether Kim Dokja has come back to life or not!”
Indeed.
The host’s skillful hosting surpassed Kim Dokja’s level.
The audience could be heard exchanging excited remarks.
“Is the real prelude coming out?”
“I don’t think there’s been a separate announcement.”
Of course not.
There hasn’t been an actual announcement.
Ji Eunyu sitting next to me whispered jokingly.
“Isn’t this a cute threat to resume serialization?”
“Well, it seems too elaborate for that.”
As I let out a light sigh, the host was introducing the final segment.
“Now, for today’s last event, it’s time for the Omniscient Reader Quiz. We’ve prepared a generous amount of prizes so that everyone can get something, so those who answer the questions correctly, please come up to the stage right away.”
Judging by the excited looks of the audience, this seemed to be the main event.
The host standing in front of the screen began reading the question.
“The first question is—”
Before completing the question, readers eagerly raised their hands.
It was unexpected; I thought the question would be challenging.
When the chosen reader answered, the host applauded.
“Congratulations. Please come this way.”
The reader with a memorable face followed the host’s guidance and disappeared behind the curtain with a sparking sound.
I chuckled, and so did the audience.
It was an amusing performance.
This time, I thought of giving it a try.
“Now, the second question. How many times did ■ appear in the entire ‘Omniscient Reader’?”
Hmm…
No matter how much I thought about it, who would know such a thing?
Even as the author, I wasn’t aware.
But then, someone raised their hand.
“Me! The answer is—”
The reader who raised their hand started talking smoothly.
I naturally thought they were just saying any random number, but surprisingly, the host applauded.
“Congratulations. Please come this way.”
How on earth did they get it right?
The reader who answered the second question followed the host’s guidance and vanished behind the curtain.
The host smiled and said,
“Was the question too difficult? This time, it’s an easy one!”
I focused on the host’s words.
Okay, this time for sure.
“The third question. In ‘Three Ways to survive in an Apocalypse,’ Yoo Junghyuk regresses 1,863 times. What does the number ‘1,863’ symbolize?”
I paused for a moment after hearing the question.
What symbolism did that number hold?
I speculated on what intention the author of Omniscient Reader might have had in using the number 1,863.
In my thoughts… the author had no intention whatsoever.
Absolutely not.
I know it well because I am the author of Omniscient Reader.
This time, there were quite a few readers raising their hands.
When the host pointed to one person, the reader said,
“1,863 symbolizes the year when the world’s first subway was opened. It represents Yoo Junghyuk’s regression repeatedly occurring within the spinning subway.”
Huh?
I was confused, but the surrounding readers echoed in agreement.
“Oh, right, right. That was it.”
“Ah, I saw it in Kim Dokja’s analysis article.”
As the host applauded, the reader who answered the question went up to the platform with a cheerful smile.
Ji Eunyu asked me,
“Was there really such a meaning in 1,863?”
“Of course. In my writing, every number has meaning. Every element is intricately connected.”
The quiz continued.
Some questions were about things I knew, while others were completely beyond my knowledge.
However, amid the back and forth, I felt an indescribable emotion.
The stories I remember.
The stories I don’t remember.
Even the unintended stories.
The stories I haven’t written in the past three years are still continuing here.
Suddenly, a question arose in my mind.
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Can I say that I love these stories more than they do?
“The name of the sword Jung Heewon received as a gift from Kim Dokja in the theatre dungeon?”
“Me! Me!”
Even the Judge Heewon sitting next to me managed to answer a question.
As he happily went behind the curtain, Ji Eunyu murmured anxiously,
“At this rate, it will be just us left. Will there be a penalty or something if we’re the only ones left?”
Ji Eunyu also began raising her hand from that moment on.
By the time twenty questions had passed, Ji Eunyu correctly answered a question.
“I’ll go first. See you outside,”
Ji Eunyu waved and disappeared.
Even after she left, I didn’t raise my hand.
The traditional readers who were hesitant at first started getting the answers right and stood up from their seats.
Some readers suddenly wiped away tears.
I watched their backs as they left the theatre for a long time.
“Now, only the last question remains.”
The voice echoed in the silent theatre.
Suddenly, I was the only one left in the audience.
Looking at the numerous empty seats in the front rows, I thought about the character ‘Kim Dokja’ for the first time in a while.
“Now, for the final question.”
Nervously, I focused on the question.
Hopefully, it will be an easy one.
The host smiled and asked,
“Who is the heroine of Omniscient Reader?”
I hesitated for a moment, then closed my mouth. Perhaps the host noticed my confusion because they added reassuringly,
“I’ll give you one minute to think.”
The heroine of Omniscient Reader.
Who would Kim Dokja consider as the heroine?
I didn’t know.
Because I am not Kim Dokja.
So, I decided to think about it from the perspective of the author of Omniscient Reader, ‘Author Lee.’
“In 1 minute, I’ll reveal the answer.”
Actually, ‘Omniscient Reader’ was not a story that actively introduced and wrote about a heroine, so there was almost no romantic subplot.
“10 seconds remaining.”
“The heroine of Omniscient Reader—”
I said the name I thought of as the heroine.
I wasn’t sure if it was right to mention this character.
Compared to other main characters, her role was not as prominent.
Yet, she was a character I created for Kim Dokja.
The host remained silent for a moment after my response before asking,
“Why do you think so?”
Perhaps the person who loves this story the most is not me.
I may not be the one who knows the most about this story.
Still, I wanted to say it at least once.
“Because I wrote her.”
“What?”
The host asked as if they didn’t hear properly.
I smiled and raised my voice.
“Because she’s a character I love.”
I couldn’t be sure if my answer was correct or not.
However, the host nodded silently and then clapped slowly.
Did that mean I got it right, or was it wrong?
Come to think of it, the host had never used the word ‘correct’ until now.
“Congratulations.”
With the host’s words, I walked down the stairs from the theater stage.
Following the path the readers had taken, I noticed the empty seats in the theater.
The words “The Fourth Wall” faintly shimmered on the screen.
Suddenly, I remembered the readers walking down the stairs, forcing smiles as they glanced back.
Only now did I feel like I understood their hearts.
They weren’t crying or smiling because they got the answers right in the quiz.
It was because this was the conclusion of “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.”
I felt like I was finally descending the path I should have taken a long time ago.
The readers reached their destinations in their own ways, and now it was my turn.
As I climbed onto the stage, the host was waiting for me.
We looked at each other for a moment on the stage.
The host glanced at the nickname written on my name tag.
[■■■]
“Your nickname is quite difficult to pronounce,” the host commented.
I smiled and nodded.
Even up close, the host’s face wasn’t clear.
Their voice was oddly neutral, making it hard to tell if they were male or female.
I suddenly wanted to ask if they were ‘Kim Dokja Representative.’
Still, I refrained, feeling I didn’t have the right to ask.
“The prizes are beyond the curtain. You can pick them up and leave.”
Hearing about the prizes made my heart race.
What could it be?
Maybe a gift card?
I reached out towards the stage curtain but hesitated.
Wetting this curtain felt like the real end of this story.
Were there still stories left to write?
Sentences I forgot, words I didn’t use?
In the final moment, I looked back.
It seemed like someone was still there.
If someone was left, I wanted to write a story for that person.
Indeed, there was someone when I turned around.
When did they move there?
The host was waving from the center of the audience.
It seems the audience was more visible from the stage than I thought.
I shook hands with the host, turned slowly, and wet the curtain.
It was time to live in the world after the conclusion.
“Are you really ending it like this?”
The host’s voice echoed.
But then…
“If you unilaterally conclude it like this, what about the rest of us?”
The host’s words reached me.
Just as I was about to respond, there was a buzzing sound, and I instinctively grabbed my phone.
It wasn’t a phone vibration.
“So, please take care of that story.”
Something was swirling in front of my eyes.
Huh,
The swirling sound engulfed me, and sparks flew before my eyes.
It felt as if someone had thrown me into a subway car, endlessly repeating the rapid acceleration and deceleration.
There was a faint taste of soil in my breath as I held it in.
And when I opened my eyes.
‘I was really in the subway.’
A slightly elevated view than usual.
A lukewarm breeze blew from the ceiling vents.
Smelling the peculiar underground dust, I blinked my eyes.
It felt like floating, and the vague sensations slowly adhered to my skin, gradually restoring a sense of reality.
“Exactly, it was a subway station.”
Why was I here?
Along with the question, an answer emerged from deep within my mind.
I already knew where this was.
“But, why did you start in the subway?”
Geunyu once asked me that.
“Because it felt the most natural.”
But I couldn’t accept that answer.
“What the heck.”
My voice, which flowed out of my mouth, surprised me with its unnaturalness.
I reflexively looked ahead.
On the screen door, it wasn’t ‘Lee Hakhyun’ but the man with those real eyes was staring at me.
“No—”
An unknown phone was clutched in my hand.
I inadvertently pressed the phone’s power button.
“At that moment, checking the time on my phone was just a coincidence.”
The phone’s clock digits changed with a ticking sound.
PM 7:00.
As I raised my head, a small explosion sound somewhere accompanied a message.
[Free service of the planetary system 8612 has ended.]
[The main scenario has started.]
I knew too well what would come next.
“It was the moment when the genre of my life changed.”
That statement wasn’t something I thought.
“And so,”
At that moment, I was ‘thinking.’
“I entered ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.’”
[PR/N: Well, I’m sure you guys must’ve guessed by now, but for those who don’t want to accept it, yes, Lee Hakyun is the MC of ORV side stories. ?]
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